I purchased a leecraft ZCI for my Unisaw. I followed the instructions that came with it to adjust the set screws to get it to fit tightly in the opening, then clamped a 2×4 over it and slowly raised the blade. Now I have zero clearance around the blade, but there is considerable “blade noise” now, which I assume is caused by the sides of the teeth just barely hitting the insert. I searched and found some other posts at FWW saying that this is normal and will eventually go away, but the amount of noise I’m getting makes me think that this can’t be normal. I’m not sure what could be “defective” about an insert, so I’m not sure where to go from here. I could file the sides of the kerf in the insert, but feel that doing so would defeat the point of having a ZCI. Any suggestions?

I think your right that it’s the sides of the blades touching the insert. My guess is that if you do a little trim on the zero clearance with a file it will go away. One other thought is you have a bent blade or wobble in you arbor.

Check to make sure your blade is dead on at 90 degrees also make sure the insert is absolutely level with the top of your saw (not canted). You can also try running a piece of sandpaper that is wrapped around a thin piece of wood slightly smaller than the kerf of the sawblade through the insert. It helps widen the clearance just a smidge and quiets things down. If there is still noise, put a dial indicator on the blade and check to make sure there is no blade warp or arbor run out.

I doubt the insert is ‘defective’ – all it is is a piece of material with a cut line in it that you cut on your own saw.

a few thoughts:

1. +1 to Jims idea, if your cut wasn’t clean, you may have some burr on the edges of the newly cut slot – use a file to lightly debur those corners and it may remove the excess noise.

2. if #1 didn’t work, I would turn off the saw – unplu it from the electic outlet, raise the blade, and turn it by hand – slowly, see if you can fine any specific teeth on the saw that rub against the insert and cause a scratching noise, if these is ALL the teeth then your cut was off somehow (was the blade at exact 90 when you cut it? is it still at exact 90?), if it’s just some of the teeth than you have a bent blade or your arbor is not running true (or the blade is not sitting properly on the arbor)- check for those

It will go away after a while.I have used thees inserts for a few years now on a couple of different saws and they always make noise at first.Make sure you dial in the fit by adjusting the screws on the sides of the insert!

While the noise may go away with use as Chipy said, I’d still make sure the blade was flat and the arbor had zero play in it. It’s good practice to make sure your tools are within spec and performing properly (or as expected).

And, as the others have said, a light pass with sandpaper might help a little more quickly. I’d try to figure out where the blade touches and then only lightly remove material from that area.

I had the same thing happening to me on my home made insert. I cut a washer out of thin cardboard and set in on the saw arbor between the fixed flange and the blade. Then turned the saw on an raised the blade. Then I took the washer off. It worked for me.

It sounds unlikely in your case, but I’d consider the possibility of motor shaft bearings contributing to runout as well.

I mention this because, over several months, I noticed a gradually increasing rattle at startup and shutdown only with my ZCI and not with wider inserts. I readjusted the insert leveling screws and repeated the original setup cut of the ZCI. Got no improvement, so let it go. Wrong…

A few weeks ago, I found that drive belt tension was fine, but had a bearing squeak that I traced to the motor; the arbor bearings were noiseless and without any play I could feel. I replaced the motor only (under warranty) and my noise is now gone.

Looking back, my best guess is there was a certain amount of vibration transmitted to the blade despite belt drive and have added that to my list of things to consider if something sounds awry in the future.

There’s no such thing as a perfectly balanced, rotating, machine. You’re dealing with manufacturing tolerances in both the arbor and the blade, and you’re going to get some “flutter” as the blade rotates. Moving the blades location relative to the arbor and change the flutter, and even the tightness of the arbor nut can have an effect.

The instructions for the insert I got on my saw says that if you are getting excessive noise from the insert to run a file through the kerf a few times to knock off a bit. With the little amount your removing from the kerf, it’s not going to cause issues with small pieces… Considering when was the last time you cut a piece that is only a few thousandths thick LOL…